18 Vanuatu women look to stand in October elections

Vanuatu’s Department of Women’s Affairs is helping to train women preparing to stand in the election. 18 women have been attending a workshop organised by the department on Efate into the workings of parliament and being an MP. It is part of efforts to increase women’s participation in the elections set for 30 October.

Vanuatu voters have elected five women to the 52-seat parliament since independence in 1980 and the current parliament has just one woman MP. Four years ago, 18 of the 349 candidates were women. The Electoral Commission is due to officially announce the names of candidates next month.

In another development, Vanuatu’s internal affairs minister, George Wells, has broken his silence over the Phocea affair. The luxury yacht had reportedly been visited by unnamed government ministers before authorities searched it for suspected weapons and fake Vanuatu passports. The head of the Transnational Crime Unit, Andrew Kalman, in charge of the probe was subsequently suspended, prompting him to challenge the government move in court. Wells has now accused Kalman of interfering with the investigations, by deliberately delaying court documents that should have been processed quickly to arrest the owner of the yacht. The minister said this allowed the reported owner to escape the police net and catch a plane out of the country. But Kalman has denied the allegation, saying there are witnesses to prove that he was not in any way trying to delay the processing of the court papers.

Election candidates to be finalized by September. Vanuatu’s Department of Women’s Affairs is helping to train women preparing to stand in the election. 18 women have been attending a workshop organized by the department on Efate into the workings of parliament and being an MP.

It is part of efforts to increase women’s participation in the elections set for October the 30th. Vanuatu voters have elected five women to the 52-seat parliament since independence in 1980 and the current parliament has just one woman MP. Four years ago, 18 of the 349 candidates were women. The Electoral Commission is due to officially announce the names of candidates next month.